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Monthly Archives: April 2013

With my trigger finger itching to get back to work on Raptor Strike, I slowly came to realize that Mother Nature was trying to tell me something. With rain and wind, and an aversion to taking some expensive photo equipment out in these conditions, I opted to holdout for better lighting, and some better weather, and felt in the end this will result in a better outcome for the Raptor Strike Project.

So this poses the question, what to do?

I will simply show you,,, Revisiting some favorite Wedding shots.

As new things develop in photography, including editing techniques, I do my best to continue to stay on top of techniques, as well as develop my own….

With anything, hard work and dedication make it happen,and having a plan doesn’t hurt your chances of success either.

Our day began exploring nesting sites. Our first stop was to confirm a nesting site, just to see if it was active. My collective partner on this project, Steven Wilson of Steve Wilson Photography was the first to spot a raptor near this nest, and to our surprise, we in fact are 90 percent sure that this site is home to Bald eagles. Our approach was slightly blocked by some pretty deep pools of standing water so the decision was made not to proceed forward, as this was an investigative mission versus a photography shoot. I am chalking this part of the mission on the positive side of the spectrum, as we know now the nest is active.

Part two of the mission was to explore an area where we suspected a nest of osprey and once again, Steve and I were pleased with our results. On initial sighting we spotted 3 osprey flying around this nest, but the majority of our time was spent observing 2 of them.

The osprey were well of our presence and they as well as us kept our respective distances. Unwilling to disturb their natural behavior we were treated to a fantastic show as we in fact watched 3 strikes on the very large pond that seem to be their primary supply of food. Steve was able to catch a shot of one of the osprey flying with a small fish in its talons . Being able to watch the tendencies just before the osprey made its dive to the water, was a valuable learning experience, and it was simply incredible to be witness to the entire event. I felt the most impressive part of the experience was when the osprey broke the surface of the water. The sound of the splash, and seeing the osprey emerge from the water was a sight that will be cherished in my memory.

So taking the information learned on this adventure, we are formulating a plan to set up and improve our results when we attempt to achieve our final compositions of the actual strike, which is the ultimate goal of our project.

personally, I feel really good about this project and feel that we are solid in our action plan to achieve success. Steve’s enthusiasm is refreshing to me as I think he is just as excited about all this as I am. I understand his drive and motivation for success and I respect it. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our adventure. Steve can be found on face book, and please give his page a like, drop him a note and say hello.

Traveling to Binghamton on a daily basis has given me several sightings of Red tails. The problem with capturing these sighting is the mere fact that I am behind a wheel, and we all know that death comes to distracted drivers. AKA Texting, cell phone use, and even snap shooting. This is what I have gathered. These raptors seem to have a draw to the medians along interstates. On any given day I see between ten to twenty right in the middle of the thruway, and they simply seem to sit there. Poses a question, Why do they do this? I suspect because there are mice and or easy pickings for them in the search for a meal.

Sadly though, a problem with this, is the fact that this week I have seen five of these birds on the side of the road, Killed by traffic. I suppose this could be considered as an unfortunate incident, but with any wildlife that hovers around man-made structures, this is bound to happen.. It is however sad.

As I chase these raptors, here is the first image I have captured. While sitting in wait I spotted this red tail as he rode the crosswind. I know this sounds cliché, but I cant help myself. I simply just enjoy watching these creatures as they do what they do.